National Credit regulator cracks down on illegal credit providers

CAPE TOWN – FIVE people have been arrested in the past week for contravening the National Credit Act (NCA).

The National Credit Regulator (NCR) said in a statement on Monday that raids to root out illegal credit providers were done in Wellington, Paarl, Stellenbosch, Strand, Woodstock, Robertson, Bellville, Goodwood and Wynberg.

“The suspects were found to be in possession of 71 pension cards, seven ID books and five bankcards,” she said.

Boucher said the focus of the raids are primarily on credit providers who are unlawfully retaining pension cards, bank cards, identity documents and personal identity numbers (PIN) of their clients as surety.

“This is a contravention of the National Credit Act and it is a criminal offence”, she added.

The raids formed part of NCR’s ongoing strategy to ensure that all credit providers, no matter where they conduct business, comply with the provisions of the NCA.

“The exploitation of vulnerable and unsuspecting consumers by credit providers will not be tolerated and this is definitely not the last investigation of this kind”, said Boucher. – ANA